The Emperor’s New Clothes (Kid's Version) Once upon a time, there was an Emperor who loved clothes. He didn’t care about ruling the kingdom or helping people—he just wanted to wear fancy outfits all the time. He had a different coat for every hour of the day! People didn’t say, “The Emperor is in a meeting.” Instead, they said, “The Emperor is in his dressing room!” One day, two sneaky men came to town. They said they were special clothes-makers and could sew magical clothes. These clothes, they said, were so special that only smart people could see them. Anyone who was too silly or bad at their job wouldn’t see anything at all! The Emperor thought, “Wow! If I wear these clothes, I can find out who is smart and who isn’t. I need those clothes!” He gave the men lots of money, and they started “working.” But guess what? They didn’t make anything at all! They just pretended to sew on empty looms. They kept all the money and nice cloth for themselves. The Emperor wanted to check on the clothes, but he was a little nervous. What if he couldn’t see them? That would mean he was foolish! So he sent one of his oldest and most honest helpers to look. The helper went in, looked at the looms… and saw nothing. But he didn’t want anyone to think he was dumb.

So he said, “Oh yes! Very beautiful! Such lovely colors!” The two sneaky men smiled and told him all about the "designs" and "colors." The helper listened closely so he could repeat it all to the Emperor. Then the Emperor sent another helper to check. Just like the first man, he saw nothing—but didn’t want to admit it! He also said, “Amazing! So fancy!” The sneaky men kept pretending to work. They asked for more gold and silk, but they still didn’t make anything at all. At last, the Emperor wanted to see the clothes for himself. He brought some of his helpers and went to visit the two men. The two sneaky men waved their arms over the empty looms. “Look, Your Majesty!” they said. “Aren’t the colors beautiful? Isn’t the pattern magical?” The Emperor looked. And looked. But he couldn’t see a thing. “Oh no,” he thought. “Am I a fool? Am I not a good Emperor?” He felt scared—but he didn’t want anyone to know. “Ah yes,” he said out loud. “These clothes are truly beautiful!” Everyone around him nodded quickly. “Yes, yes! Wonderful! Amazing!” The men told the Emperor the clothes were ready. They pretended to hold up pants and a coat and said, “Here are your trousers! Here is your robe!” They helped the Emperor “get dressed” in the invisible clothes.

He stood in front of a mirror with nothing on, but everyone kept saying how great he looked—because no one wanted to seem silly or bad at their job. The Emperor decided to show off his new clothes in a big parade. The whole city came out to watch. People had heard that only smart people could see the clothes, so no one wanted to admit they saw nothing. So they all cheered, “Wow! The Emperor’s new clothes are amazing!” But then, one little child shouted, “Hey! He’s not wearing any clothes!” Everyone went quiet. Then someone else said, “That child is right—he’s got nothing on!” People began to laugh. The Emperor heard them and knew they were telling the truth. But he was too proud to stop the parade. So he held his head high and kept walking... in his underwear! And the two sneaky men? They had already run away with all the gold and silk.